Andrew Bogut had played a whopping :58 seconds for the Cleveland Cavaliers after being signed as a free agent (he had been traded to Philadephia as part of the Nerlens Noel deal, then waived) when it happened.
Bogut closed out on Miami’s Okaro White at the arc, so White put the ball on the floor and tried to drive past the big man, but White’s knee hit Bogut clean in the shin. Bogut went to the ground grabbing his leg, clearly in a lot of pain and had to be helped to the locker room. The diagnoses came back before the game was over, Bogut had a broken tibia.
Wednesday the Cavaliers announced what was expected, Bogut is done for the regular season and playoffs. From the press release:
Andrew Bogut underwent additional imaging and evaluation at the Cleveland Clinic yesterday related to his fractured left tibia. His tibia has been set and he is undergoing a non-surgical treatment and recovery plan commencing immediately with an extended period of immobilization and healing stimulation. He will not be available to play the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, but is expected to successfully complete his recovery process in advance of training camp for the 2017-18 NBA season.
While not devastating, this is a blow to the Cavaliers heading into the playoffs. Cleveland was counting on him to fill a role for them off the bench providing depth and size, essentially playing Timofey Mozgov role but with better passing and decision making. Now they remain a bit thin on the front line.
